


Stones of Disaster

by Marvelgeek42



Series: Warrior of different Earths [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: (is there any other way to write her?), A+ Parenting, Awesome Darcy Lewis, BAMF Peggy Carter, Dubious Science, F/M, Gen, General Ross is an ass, Good Loki, I'm trying, Intersex Jotun (Marvel), Jotun Loki, Loki's Kids, Master of Death Harry Potter, Slow To Update, Solving problems without violence, there's paperwork for everything
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-23
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-05-08 16:30:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5504783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marvelgeek42/pseuds/Marvelgeek42
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry was kind of stupid to think he'd stop being the Master of Death by just keeping one Hallow. So, after he finally realized this, he gets the job description: Sorting out other universes' messes 'till the end of time. Oh joy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Because saving the world once apparently isn't enough

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Crazyboi23](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Crazyboi23).



> Requested by [Crazyboi23](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/5110926/)  
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize.

The first time Harry returned to the Hogwarts ground after the (technically second) Battle of Hogwarts, the Final Battle was on the day three years after it, on May 2 2001. And, even though he did not know it back then, it should also be the last time he would ever see the castle. This version of it, at least.

The rebuilding was finally completed and their savior, Harry, had been invited to deliver a speech to the crowd. Despite the fact that he still did not like to speak in front of a one, he had accepted. He could not say no to Professor McGonagall (especially not after Crucio-ing Carrow for spitting on her).

He had annoyed (and amused) Ginny for two months with his sheer inability to write a simple speech, but none of his attempts felt _right_. Harry first had no idea what it was, but _something_ was missing in every single one of them. He couldn't quite put his finger on it for weeks, but when he finally – finally – saw what they had been missing, he had been able to write a speech he deemed worthy to actually hold. And when Professor McGonagall announced him, he did so.

"We have assembled here to celebrate the reopening of Hogwarts as it used to be. However, I will not talk about the history of Hogwarts today. Nor will I retell you the Second Wizarding War – or Blood War. You all either know or will be told several times in the future. What I will be talking about is my connection to this school, which I believe is unique. Or at least I really hope so."

Harry scanned the crowd. Barring a few younger children, everyone's attention was focused on him. He could see Bill and Fleur with little Victorie who just turned one today and was playing with Fleur's hair, sitting in the second row on his left.

Right next to them was Teddy, waving his right arm enthusiastically and smiling (as he had gotten Ginny to agree to stand), on Ginny's shoulders.

Charlie was standing next to them, an arm around his sister and giving Harry an encouraging smile.

Ron and Hermonie were sitting on the other side of Bill.

George, tears in his red eyes, was sitting next to Angelina in the first row to Harry's left.

Percy was sitting next to George. Percy's wife, a muggle named Audrey, was at their home with the barley a month old Lucy.

Located next to Percy were Molly and Arthur, listening to Harry with approving smiles on their faces.

On Angelina's left were Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell (well, originally), the latter with her husband Oliver and their one-year-old son Marc.

In the row behind them were Hannah, Neville, Luna and her husband Rolf. Even Draco Malfoy was sitting in their general area, close enough to be seen as part of the large group, but still far away enough that he could claim it was just a coincidence.

He almost didn't believe it, but even the centaurs listened from the edge of the forest and the merfolk from beneath the surface of the lake.

Harry took a deep breath and continued, "The first time I saw the castle was, like everybody else – excepting of course the lucky children who are here today – on September First in my first year at Hogwarts. I remember not believing that everything Hagrid," Harry nodded his head in the half-giant's direction, "had told me was true. I had been desperately waiting for a way to get away from my relatives and did not dare to let myself completely trust that it had not just been a dream until the very day I left for Hogwarts.

When truly I allowed myself to accept, that it was not a dream, but reality, was when I heard Molly Weasley," Harry gave her a warm smile, "ask her children what the platform number was and thus giving her daughter a chance to be included and not just a tag along. Not the smartest thing to do in the presence of muggles, but I later learned that they had put a muggle repelling charm on themselves. Or rather Molly had put one on herself and her children.

After boarding the train, my best friend knocked on the door, claiming that everywhere else was full. Knowing him, he looked in about five compartments before seeing me alone and deciding to try his luck. I gladly let him join me and we bonded over Quidditch and sweets. I also met a few other people during the train ride, but I have to admit that I did not really like any of them on that day.

Anyways, upon arriving here, I sat in a boat with Ron, Hermione and Neville and I was stunned to see Hogwarts, which turned out to be my first real home and the place where I met my real family. Where despite being hurt, bullied and accursed of doing things I would never do, I was happiest. Where I learned so much more outside the lessons, that it almost surpasses what I learned in them. I learned what a real family is and that it doesn't end with blood. I learned how it is to have friends that care, how it feels to really matter. I learned that even people who have basically nothing in common can be great friends, lovers even. I learned that the world is not black and white, but mostly gray. And that is just a small part of the lessons I learned.

The house I lived in was not my home to me, it was just the home of people who happened to share some of my blood and frankly did not like me. Hogwarts was my first home and will always have a special place in my heart, which is why I am glad that future generations will be able to have a similar experience, to see what in my opinion is the proof that buildings can have magic. Thank you for listening."

The crowd applauded, but Harry had already left the stage.

He didn't know why, but the entire time he had an urge to go into the forest. Harry had learned to trust his instincts, so at the first chance he got (which was not immediately after his speech, but he could manage) he went into the forest.

Harry was not sure why he was doing this, what he was searching, but he knew he was searching _something_.

After stumbling through the woods for what felt like hours, but turned out to be 13 minutes, he had reached his goal, still clueless, what he was searching.

Then it hit him. He was in the location of his sort-of death. His feet had carried him here, to this exact place. A place which looked like every other in the forest, but Harry _knew_ it was the place. Without realizing, he was drawn towards a stone. _The_ stone. He bent down and picked it up, before everything turned black.

* * *

When Harry awoke, he was not in the forest anymore. Instead he was wherever he had been when he spoke to Dumbledore, only this time he was clothed from the start and instead of Dumbledore there was a woman who did not really seem to fit in.

She had straight jet black hair that nearly reached her hips, red eyes and was paler then any person he had seen before. The mysterious woman was wearing an all black old-fashioned dress and a black jacket with silver buttons. She was standing there arms crossed and looked at Harry.

"Hello Master," she welcomed him in a deep voice, "It seems you have finally returned to the Resurrection Stone."

Harry was confused at the figure calling him Master at first, but as she mentioned the stone it clicked.

"So, you're Death?" when she nodded he continued, "I'm sorry, but I don't want to be your Master. I'd rather just live a quiet life, or as quiet my life is able to get, with Teddy, Ginny and my friends."

"I am aware of this. And this is one of the reasons why you are. A Power as great as yours demands a certain responsibility. And humans tend to be more so, when they do not want the power in question," Death smiled, "And you do not exactly have a choice in that matter."

Harry sighed. Fate did really hate him, or so it seemed. After all, almost the opposite of his wishes came true. The short duration of his and Sirius' relationship being just one of the countless examples.

"Great," he deadpanned, "Now what are these abilities you mentioned? And what exactly is my job now?"

"Excellent questions you're asking there," Death complimented, "Well, for starters you're immortal. And, like the Norse Gods, you have Allspeak, which basically means you can speak any language."

"Wait a second," Harry interrupted, "If the Norse Gods are real, shouldn't you be Hel?"

"First of all, every god is real, not just Norse ones," Death corrected, "Secondly, no I shouldn't. Hel is the Goddess of Death, just like Thanatos is the Greek one. I _am_ Death. Just because Sif is the Goddess of War, that doesn't mean she _is_ war. Like sure, she represents war and can influence it more then the average being, but that doesn't mean she is War. War is my sister."

"You have a sister?" Harry asked, completely stunned.

"Three actually. War, Pestilence and Famine. Anyways, you are now independent from your wand, can – under certain circumstances – stop me from collecting a life, call the Hallows to you from whatever distance, visit the afterlife and are a shape shifter. The difference between this and a metamorph is," Death added sensing his question, "That you are also able to turn into any animal you wish. Speaking of animals, you also get two companions, or familiars, who are connected to your thoughts and change their size. Because honestly, it would be pretty impractical otherwise. These are Fawkes the Phoenix and Saszul the Basilisk."

Had Harry been drinking anything, he would have spat it out. "Wh- Fawkes? A Basilisk?"

Death nodded, "Yes, that's what I said, good to know you're listening. Where are they anyway? They were supposed to arrive the second I said their name."

Just then, as if they took that sentence as their cue, a flame lit a few feet to Harry's right and Fawkes and an about ten meter long snake which had to be a young basilisk appeared.

"Ah, there they are."

 **Hello again, hatching** , this voice belonged to Fawkes.

 _Pleasssed to sssee you, hatching_ , this one to Saszul.

"Uh, hi," Harry replied awkwardly.

"Where was I? Oh, right, your job. Basically you are to go to whatever universe currently needs help the most and aide in sorting the mess out," Death announced.

Harry groaned, "I'm going to spend eternity sorting out other people's messes? I thought I was done with that."

"Well, you were wrong," Death informed him, "If I were you I would think about what I am going to take with me."

"Wait, I have to start now?" Harry protested, "Can't I at least say Goodbye to everyone?"

"Nope," Death replied, popping the 'p', "Most you can do is write a letter. Otherwise you'd probably say Goodbye to every single human on this Earth and to be frank with you: I'm impatient", she shrugged, "Illogical, but I am."

* * *

Griphook was having a good day in his office. The paperwork was less annoying then average and no human had turned up so far to ruin his day.

That was until the Sword of Gryffindor suddenly vanishing from its place on the wall and thus effectively indeed ruining his day.

To make matters worse, the records of the Potter (not Black, just Potter) vaults emptied. It seemed irrelevant, if they contained jewels, family heritages, muggle money or wizard money.

Everything vanished right under his nose.

The goblin cursed who or whatever decided to ruin his day and went back to work. Or, to be more precise, to inform his superiors of the disappearances.

* * *

Ginny was running up and down in the Entrance Hall, waiting for Harry.

He had disappeared hours ago, claiming an urge to enter the forest out of all things and he hadn't been seen since.

She was growing increasingly worried that one being or another had killed her boyfriend.

Teddy was currently playing with Victorie at Shell Cottage, thanks to Fleur noticing her distress (Ginny was glad that she had been wrong about the woman).

Suddenly a piece of parchment made its appearance in her hand. She started to read, not sure what she was expecting.

_Dear Ginny,_

_I am in_ _c_ _redibly sorry (re_ _ally_ _, you would not believe how sorry I_ _am_ _) but I will not be coming back._

_That strange urge I got? That was the Resurrection Stone calling me and now Death (who is female right now by the way) is forcing me to fix up the messes people in other universes created for the rest of eternity._

_I have absolutely no choice in that matter, otherwise I would be staying with you and Teddy, I swear._

_Could you please inform the others of my 'capture'? I have also left some letters for Teddy when he leaves for Hogwarts in (y)our bedroom in Grimmuald Place along with ones from Remus, Andromeda and Tonks. The one advantage this has: I can now speak with the Dead from all universes whenever I want. Fred says 'hi' by the way. And George is to stop sulking and get back to WWW._

_Do not wonder when you find my books or my broom missing, I took them along._

_I will search for a way to communicate. I have no clue, if there is one, but I promise I will try._

_Love_

_Harry._

By the end of the letter, Ginny was crying. Her Harry was never coming back. Unable to think straight, she did not attempt to aparate, so she went to the next best floo.

Someone had to inform the rest of the world that he was not returning after all.


	2. Big, Blonde, and Beefy, or, Thor the Sky God

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Harry arrvies in the new universe and makes some interesting new friends and acquaintances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter was betaed by [d4rkf0x](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/4773583/d4rkf0x/).

"Finally finished sulking, have you?" Death questioned. "Think you have everything?"

"I think so," Harry answered, ignoring Death's remark. He had to leave everyone he loved, so excuse him for not dancing around in happiness, but instead crying and generally being sad.

"My money, my broom, my books, the Sword of Gryffindor, the Hallows and my wands. I have no idea what else I could need that I would not be able to buy."

"You are aware that you are no longer in need of the last one?"

"I know." Harry sighed. "The idea to leave it just feels _wrong_."

"Just checking. Then let's see what's happening in your future universe!" Death proposed enthusiastically, walking towards a large book laying on the only table in the room or vortex or void or whatever it was.

"Might as well."

Harry and his new familiars followed Death to the book which had 'A Guide To The Unlimited Number of Universes' written over it in a fancy, old-fashioned font.

The newly titled Master of Death wondered how they all fit in the book if there was an unlimited number, but decided not to question it for now.

Death opened the book and started to flick through it.

"The universes are listed from good to bad in here," she explained only for Harry to interrupt.

"By who's scale? I mean, you're Death, shouldn't you, like, like stuff like the holocaust, mass killings or accidents where many people die?"

"No. Every death or near death gives me paperwork. While the collectors, like Hel, Ereshkigal, Donn, Wang Yuan or Thanatos, handle most of it, but I still have to sign off every death. Do you know how much time this takes? So, good means little paperwork, bad means lots of it. We don't have as much time as you might think, which is why we will continue. Here for example," she stopped at a page not even one-third in, "we have your universe. Without Voldemort or the Death Eaters, everything is balanced and reasonably well. Not that there is no prejudice, but both worlds are making their best effort towards reducing or even erasing it. While there might not be instant results, it should be over in four to five hundred years, assuming everything goes as planned."

She started turning the pages again.

Saszul tried to comment on something, but he was immediately silenced by Death.

When she was about two-thirds through the book, she stopped again.

"Or take this one. Tom Riddle senior truly loved Merope Gaunt in this universe and thus, not being convinced under a love potion, Junior was able to feel love. He grew up loved and even had three little siblings, Jasmine Merope, Sebastian Daniel and Elizabeth Claire Riddle, and never created the identity of Lord Voldemort or ever murdered anyone. Sounds like it should be listed before yours, doesn't it?" Death paused, waiting for Harry to nod and after he did so, she continued, "Only that this Bellatrix turns out to be a better Dark Lady then Tom was a Dark Lord in your universe. She basically caused a second holocaust. Only worse. Nearly every muggle, muggleborn, magical creature and many people who were in her way were killed.

The Riddle family may have been the last descendants of Slytherin and the children were all reasonably powerful, but unfortunately, their parents were a near-squib and a muggle. Also, two of them made the 'mistake' to marry muggleborns. So they and their children, the youngest only six, were brutally killed. As were that world's Lily Evans, Albus Dumbledore, Remus Lupin, Arthur Weasley, Bill Weasley – despite the fact that he was too young to speak, Alice Stone and many, many more.

Some people managed to hide, how they did it would take way too much time to explain, but the James Potter, Severus Snape, Sirius and Regulus Black as well as the oldest of Tom Riddle Jr's children, Percival Thomas Riddle, and Molly Weasley survived and trained under Moody. C'mon, you think Bellatrix managed to trick that paranoid man into a situation in which she could kill him?" Death asked noticing Harry's expression. "Moving on- they were trained and eventually in 1987 they managed to defeat her. After that the survivors, as little as their number was, worked towards the end of discrimination and the, er, worse versions of it."

" _Understatement of the millennium_ ," Saszul voiced his thoughts, doing the snake equivalent of a snort.

Fawkes looked like he wanted to agree with Saszul, but he stayed quiet.

"You're not wrong there, Saszul," Death agreed, once again starting to flick through the book muttering to herself as she did so (Snow was even worse, Merlin and Arthur didn't unite Albion, Samuel accepted Lucifer's offer on the first day, Perseus made the wrong choice and their like).

When she finally arrived at the last page she began to explain that universe's problem to Harry. "This universe is technically not worse than most others in 2001, however this universe is one that moves faster and has already reached 2020. And let's just say that there is no living being in this universe. Not a single one, despite the fact that it used to consist of nine densely populated worlds. One of them had several trillion people living in it", at Harry's questioning look she elaborated, "That world considered of Earth and all of the known universe. Anyway, I'm sending you to a point where that world is messed up, but not enough that you were helpless or too late to do anything.

You are going to arrive in the summer of 2011. I'm afraid I won't be able to give you a clearer date or location, but you need to make your way to either Puente Antiguo in New Mexico, Culver University in Willowdale which is in Virginia, Harlem in New York City, the Stark Expo somewhere else in the city, Monaco, Washington DC, Malibu or Los Angeles."

"Why so many places?" Harry wondered.

"Because three – or four if you count Captain America resurfacing – issues were taking place in the same week and not one of them only took place in one location. Probably want to avoid turning up in Asgard unannounced though," Death chuckled.

"Noted. How will I know what to do?" Harry questioned.

"You won't," Death stated slowly, sounding confused, "Just do what you think best. It's not like you can make it worse."

"Guess you're right. So, when do I leave?"

"Now."

"What?" Harry shouted, but it was too late.

Everything turned black and the newly proclaimed Master of Death was pretty sure he collapsed on the ground.

Not that he was aware, but Death leaned over him, grinning wide.

* * *

Julia was having a fairly normal day right until she found that dead gorgeous, unconscious, white guy while hiking in the desert.

She was with her best friend Lisa who had just as little idea what to do as Julia had.

"Shouldn't we do something? Like, phone 911?" Lisa eventually proposed.

"Might be a good idea," Julia agreed when the man suddenly stirred.

"Hello? Sir? Are you okay? Do you need help?" the two girls asked the man.

"Er, ow, that hurt," then he noticed the two girls, "Sorry, my name's Harry. My," he paused, " _friend_ seems to have dropped me here and left. Again. Mind telling me who you are and where I am?"

* * *

As it turned out, Harry landed in Riverside, Nevada near the border to Arizona on July 12. He briefly wondered if it would be better to make his way to Los Angeles or Puente Antiguo, but he quickly decided in favour of the latter. He did not want to deal with intelligence agencies less than a week after his arrival.

So he began to make his way to his goal.

* * *

And _logically_ , he had to anyways. Harry Potter Luck in action! Live and in colour, even!

Who were these SHIELD guys anyway? There had not been any of them in his own universe; that much was sure!

"Er, I come in peace?" Harry stated, hands beside either side of his face.

This did not impress Suit-guys #1 and #2, but bow-guy allowed himself a grin.

Well, one out of three isn't _that_ bad.

"Sir? We have to ask you to identify yourself," Suit-guy #1 demanded.

"Would you believe me if I tell you that I'm from another universe and Death herself tasked me with ensuring the survival of yours?"

"Normally, no, but as we have an unmovable hammer downstairs, it suddenly does not seem that much of a stretch, does it, Barton, Luhng?" Suit-guy #2 answered.

Harry decided he liked that guy.

Bow-guy frowned, then smiled."He reminds me of that Radcliffe fellow. You know, the guy who played Arthur Kipps in _The Woman in Black_?"

And this one.

* * *

When did they think it was a good idea to leave him alone with the weird hammer? And why?

They were not very smart. Or so it looked like.

He didn't even have any records, any identification, and they left him alone with it.

So here he was, studying the runes on the hammer with the help of one of his books ( _Whoever is worthy..._ ), when some big blonde guy who either broke the dress code or did not belong to the organization stormed in angry and wet (Harry had conjured an invisible roof when it started raining).

"Er, hey, first of all, please don't hurt me, I'm not trying to keep your hammer – I assume it is yours – from you, I'm just translating the runes into English. Second, I'm Harry. Harry Potter." He held out his hand.

"I am Thor, god of Thunder and son of Odin!" big-blonde-and-beefy thundered, staring at the Master of Death's hand.

That pun had totally been on purpose.

"That actually makes it easier for once. You know or know of Hel, I presume?"

Big-blonde-and-beefy, no, erm, Thor, nodded.

"Her boss sends me", the god stepped back, "Apparently, without my help, everyone in every realm in this universe will be dead in nine years. So, could you, you know, not use violence, but explain to these guys in suits why this is yours? I'm sure they are very nice."

* * *

They were actually – no one expected it, he was sure – having a peaceful discussion about Mjol-something, when Thor suddenly frowned after glancing out of a window-ish thing.

"Err, Thor," Harry inquired, "Who or what's out there?"

"My brother. Loki," he added sensing Harry's unspoken question.

"Your brother, Loki, who is here because...?" Suit-guy #2, Agent (Phillip Joshua) Coulson, prompted.

Thor shrugged, "I do not know. My brother has not been on Midgard since the imprisonment of Fenrir."

"That's his son, right?" Agent (Clinton Francis) Barton requested confirmation, "One of four kids? Five?"

"Six," Thor corrected.

"Okay, I'm going to talk to him," Harry decided and, too fast for anyone to stop him, he was out of the door.

* * *

Impulsive? Why, yes, yes it was, but Harry still trusted his instincts, despite them getting him into this mess in the first place.

"I presume you are Loki Odinson?"

"Who wants to know?" the god sneered.

Was there a school for this kind of thing somewhere? He sounded just like Snape!

"Me. Harry Potter, numerous titles you won't care for, so I'll stick to the interesting ones, alright? Master of Death, Person tasked with keeping everyone, including you and your family, alive-"

"I have no family. I am no Odinson," Loki scowled.

"Sorry, but whether you like it or not: you have children and an adoptive brother. More than I had by far. Okay, Teddy, my godson, was there his whole life, but he is only three. Now, I don't know about your adoptive parents, but Thor loves you. In a completely non-gay, platonic kind of way. So please, get off your high horse and instead of trying to kill someone, how about you solve your issues in a non-violent way, maybe hire a therapist for you and your kids, after you find and or free them, which you will. Because you might be jealous of Thor, but he never knowingly hurt you on purpose as far as I'm informed. And an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

Loki closed his eyes. Opened them, just to close them again, taking obvious effort to keep his poker face.

Allowing himself a small grin, he opened them again. "Perhaps it's not me, after all, who deserves the title Silvertongue, but you."

* * *

The brothers sat down in a secluded room and talked themselves out for a little more than three hours.

Of course a single conversation could not solve all issues, but they were working towards a good relationship between them and that was what mattered.

Harry smiled to himself. He may not have solved this world's problems yet, but he had had a good start. Without him, Loki would most likely have followed the dark path at least long enough to ensure it would be too late to return.

But with him, they had planned to free Loki's offspring (Loki insisted – for the moment), signed the Avengers Initiative (all three of them) and tried to make peace, not only between them, but also between the realms.

Their location had been stormed by Thor's friends, the 'Warrior's Three' and Sif, a female warrior (most likely the best way to describe her), shortly after they were finished with the politics (for today).

Apparently someone named Amora and her sister Lorelei had decided a Jotun attack was just the thing Odin needed during the 'Odinsleep' (he was going to call it 'Harrysleep' whenever _he_ slept from now on).

The seven of them (Fandral, Hogun, Volgstagg, Sif, Loki, Thor and Harry) had to defend Asgard in the least violent way possible, logically. Not everyone agreed on the non-violent part, but as the royalty – and, surprisingly, Sif – were on Harry's side, the Warrior's Three were willing to let him try.

* * *

It had worked partly. They had not made peace, but they had reached a mutual agreement to start working towards it.

That was to be expected after centuries of hate.

The sisters and their bodyguard/slave/whatever had however decided that jumping into the void was a good idea. Odd.

That just promised more trouble for the future, but for now the seven of them had a great evening and planned to return to Earth (and in Thor's case Jane) the following day.

Harry had asked Sif to give him a tour of everywhere he was allowed, as the Warrior's Three went drinking and the princes were off to talk to their mother, Frigga, and possibly ruling.

If Frigga did not want to leave her husband, one of them (Loki) might have to remain here to rule the kingdom, but the Queen would most likely agree to do it, or so they told him.

Harry and Sif had a great time. Once the ice was broken, they laughed and compared their places of origin, while learning a fair bit about each other too.


	3. Generals have no reason to be at universities, especially not this one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Harry and Sif play guess the monster and technically do not lie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter was betaed by [d4rkf0x](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/4773583/d4rkf0x/).

Just as the princes predicted, Frigga did not mind ruling in place of her husband once Jotunheim was no longer a threat. At least not for the time being.

So the next morning, the seven of them returned to Midgard.

Thor would spent time with Jane, Loki would start searching for his children (starting with Jormungandr since Saszul's begging was beginning to annoy the God) with the help of SHIELD (assuming they were willing to do so), the Warrior's Three would be tailing Thor, and Sif and Harry would do whatever seemed the most interesting.

* * *

They did arrive where they left (Harry had doubted this because of Murphy's Law) around ten thirty in the morning.

There were already some SHIELD Agents, namely Agents Coulson, Barton and Suit guy #1 (Lincoln? Ling? Whatever his name was, it started with L, Harry was sure).

"How long have you been waiting?" the Master of Death asked.

"I do not think it ma-," Suit guy #1 (Lukas?) started, but was interrupted by Barton, who was grinning like a madman.

"Two hours, thirty-four minutes and twenty seconds."

"You _counted_?" Coulson questioned in the most disbelieving tone of voice Harry had heard in this universe so far.

"It's not like I had anything better to do!" Barton said defensively.

Loki smiled. "You would not have needed to wait this long, if you had asked I would have told you yesterday my brother rarely leaves his chambers before nine unless Odin orders him to."

"Brother, do not spread such lies-"

"Thor, sorry to break it to you, but Loki is quite right," Fandral chuckled.

"Anyway," Harry changed the topic, "would you be willing to help Loki find his chi-, sorry, I mean his _offspring?"_

"Depends, would you, Mr. Potter-Black be willing to help SHIELD with a few things? I'm afraid the last four days were both quite strange and stressful, and it does not seem to be over yet," Coulson replied.

Harry took a second look at the agents and realized that they looked like they hadn't slept in days.

"That's the thing you decide by? Really?" seeing the agents nod, he continued, "Depends. Would I have to do this alone or with your agents? And anytime you want me to?"

"No to the second. You would be like a consultant. You would get a mobile phone with Director Fury's, Agent Barton's, and my phone number. Who exactly do you have in mind?"

"Well, I don't think either visiting Thor's girlfriend or looking for Loki's _offspring_ is Sif's cup of tea and it would be rude to leave a lady by herself."

"I forgot he's British," Barton muttered under his breath, but it also slipped his mind that the Asgardians, Æsier in particular, had superior senses.

"I'm sorry, but if good treatment of women is an exclusively 'British' trait," Sif wondered, glaring at Barton, "How exactly does the rest of Midgard behave?"

"Now you made her angry," Hogun observed, soundly slightly fearful. "Great job, Midgardian."

"Lady Sif could join you for _this_ mission, since it is one of those things that will most likely end up in the news anyway."

"Deal."

* * *

Coulson had been right.

Whatever was happening when they arrived at Culver University (one of the other locations Death had given him, Harry noted) would most likely get in the news.

Unless this universe was even weirder than he thought and the army arriving at an university was an ordinary thing.

Hopefully it was the first.

He really did not want to deal with weird-as-fuck universes quite yet (yep, most likely his next universe would be batshit crazy).

Luckily Sif realized it was the army and did not request an explanation of tanks.

"Why exactly are you here?" Harry asked the person in charge (or who at least gave the aura of being used to giving orders).

"Who are you?" he replied rather rudely.

"I am Lord Harry James Potter-Black, Knight of her majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Second and this is my friend, Lady Sif Durinndottier, friend of one of the princes," Harry introduced them, "And you would be?"

None of this was technically a lie. He had been knighted by the queen in his old universe and Sif was friends with a prince, namely Thor.

"General Thaddeus Ross, Lord Potter-Black."

Normally he would offer the man to call him Harry, but this man ignored Sif, so no, the General would continue to address him as Lord Potter-Black.

"I will repeat my friend's earlier question," Sif stated, "Why-"

"Because of the monster."

The Goddess of War and the Master of Death looked at each other for a second.

"A monster? What kind of monster?" Sif asked, "A bilgesnipe? Draugr?"

"A boggart," Harry added, "A bundimun maybe?"

The general looked at them confused.

"No, the Hulk."

" _The_ Hulk?" Sif repeated, "I have never heard of such beast"

"Me neither," Harry shook his head, "What is it?"

"A destructive, mindless monster," Ross answered.

"Don't you dare to lie to them too, Dad!" someone shouted, hurrying towards them from the guards holding her.

Ross had reproduced? Maybe the child had luck and their mother's genes were dominant.

Although she had a child with this man, so it would be best not to get his hopes up.

"Hello, I'm Elizabeth Ross, this fool's daughter," she pointed at the general, "The Hulk is no mindless beast as my father likes to think and tell everybody he meets. Even if he was, that would give you no right to fire on Bruce while he's not hulked out!" she yelled at her father.

Huh. She really had luck with her genes.

"I'm sorry, who is this 'Bruce' you speak of?" Sif inquired.

"My boyfriend, Bruce Banner. I suppose ex-boyfriend would be more appropriate, due to my father hunting him across the globe, making him a fugitive."

"Why does your father think of him as a monster?" Harry questioned.

General Ross tried to speak, "Because he-"

"I'm not asking you, General. I'm asking your daughter."

"When Bruce's pulse gets over 180 beats per minute, he turns into the Hulk. He is big, green and wants to prove he is the strongest. The angrier he is, the stronger he gets," Elizabeth explained.

"So let me get this straight," Harry turned to the general, "You're trying to anger a – by your description – monster who is currently a normal man – don't interrupt me, hasn't anyone ever taught you it's rude? So you're actively trying to anger someone who when angry gets exceptionally stronger and feels the need to prove it?"

"This does not seem like a wise move," Sif agreed.

"Also, where do you get all the money to finance this? This can't possibly be an official mission of the army and I doubt you're wealthy enough to afford this."

Unfortunately, General Ross (not that he deserved that title) never got the chance to answer, as some soldiers had decided their plan was well thought out (which was a mistake) and set it into motion.

Morons. The lot of them consisted only of morons.

Now Harry and Sif had to deal with the Hulk.

Maybe Elizabeth too, if she happened to do martial arts.

"Elizabeth, run!" General Ross yelled.

Seemed not like it.

So, maybe he _had_ good characteristics! Who'd have thought that?

"Even though I shudder to agree with your father," Sif made known, ignoring the fact the man was right next to her, "He's right. Unless you have fighting experience, get yourself to safety. I promise Harry and I will only use violence, if there is no other way, which I doubt."

Hesitatingly, Elizabeth looked to Harry.

"I promise, Miss Ross."

"Okay, good, but you're coming with me!" she dragged her father away from the scene.

The Master of Death had to remember to get her phone number. She sounded like a good friend and he most likely would need it sometime in the future.

He knew his luck.

His thoughts were interrupted by the Hulk roaring.

Sif was already running towards the building, so he followed her.

* * *

Big was no overstatement.

If anything, big was an understatement when describing the Hulk.

When Hulk saw Sif and Harry, both let any visible weapons drop (namely Sif's sword which hung by her side).

"Hello, you are Hulk, am I correct?" Sif asked as he roared at them in anger

Hulk paused, staring at them in a perplexed manner. They did not want to fight him?

He looked at them, and then nodded slowly.

"I am Sif and this is my friend Harry."

Harry waved.

Hulk waved back.

"We do not want to hurt you, do you think you could perhaps let Mr. Banner back out?"

"Bruce scared and hurt. Bruce want Betty safe. Hulk smash scary things that hurt Bruce until Betty safe."

"Betty is safe. See?" Harry mentioned to the remains of the wall, "Betty is not near the tanks. If you smash them, although I'm sure it would be the best smashing I would ever be honored to see," Hulk actually swelled with pride. It was kind of sweet, "they will see that as proof both you and Banner are bad. Do you want this?"

"Hulk good! Banner good!"

"We know that. Betty does too," Sif added as an afterthought, "But the other Midgardians do not. Do you want to prove them wrong?"

Hulk gave no answer, but he slowly shrunk until he was human height and his skin turned into his normal pale pallor.

When Sif realized Banner's pants were about to drop, she turned around.

Harry quickly returned the pants into their original state and conjured a belt and a shirt.

Bruce stared at them in shock. He still had not managed to comprehend what had just happened. He quickly shook out of his stupor and started to speak.

"Thank you, but who are you two? And where did you pull those clothes out of?"

"I'm Lady Sif Durinndottier, friend of prince Thor of Asgard and the Warrior's Three."

"From the old Norse myths?" Banner asked.

Sif looked at Harry who nodded.

"My name is Harry Potter-Black. I have many titles. Most importantly universe traveler, Master of Death, and person tasked with keeping everyone in this universe alive. Without me, even those already dead would somehow die."

"Well, I'm Doctor Bruce Banner. I'm a gamma scientist."

"Does that mean you can explain me how to use this?" Harry held up the mobile phone Coulson had given him earlier, "Because I kind of need to make a call but I don't know how."

Doctor Banner smiled.

"That I can do."

* * *

"This is Agent Coulson speaking."

"Harry Potter here. I've got a few questions concerning the 'mission'."

"Yes?"

"Did you expect us to hurt Banner?"

"Not me, no. Neither did Barton for that matter. I cannot speak for the World Security Council or Director Fury tough."

"Good enough, I suppose. What are we supposed to do now?"

"You should speak to the nearest SHIELD Agent of Level 10 or higher, as you do not have a handler, unless you count the one of the Avengers."

"Should I have one?"

"Yes."

"Any chance you're free?"

"No."

"In that case I shall see. Who would be the Agent we are to report to?"

"That would be Agent Hill."

"You know, it might not hurt if I know how this person looks like."

* * *

After a short description, Harry ended the call and the three of them started to look for Miss Ross or Agent Hill.

They found Elizabeth first. She told her father to leave both Bruce and her alone and joined her boyfriend, Sif and Harry in their search for Agent Hill, after saving her number in Harry's new phone.

It did not take long until they ran into Hill.

Or at least they thought so.

They all agreed she matched Coulson's description, so they decided to ask.

"Who wants to know?" she replied.

Sif quickly introduced them.

"I know you two," she motioned to Doctor Banner and Elizabeth, "but I have never heard of either of you."

"Sif here is from Asgard and I am from an alternate universe. Agent Coulson told us, well technically me, to report to you."

"To report to me? Why?"

"I signed the Avengers Initiative and me helping here was the main condition for him helping Prince Loki find his children."

"Then report."

* * *

They told her what had happened.

Agent Hill was stunned when they told her the Hulk could be reasoned with, but as soon as she checked the security cameras and saw they were telling the truth, she added herself in Harry's phone and offered Doctor Banner a place in the Initiative.

Doctor Banner was just about to decline when Hill added that not only it would stop General Ross from hunting him legally, he would also no longer be a fugitive, so he and Elizabeth could buy or rent a place to live wherever they want, provided it was on US ground, and live as a normal(ish) couple.

"Deal," Banner answered, now holding his girlfriend's hand.

"I've got another question. Who produced these weapons? I'd like to talk to them, that is, if Sif does not have a problem with it."

"No, I don't have anything against it, as long as I am allowed to join."

Hill looked conflicted for a minute before sighing.

"Please don't encourage him," she begged while giving them the address.

"I make no promises," Harry smiled, "Miss Ross, Doctor Banner, if you-"

They interrupted him to order him to call them Betty and Bruce.

"Then, Bruce, Betty, would you wait in the general area for us?"

The couple looked at each other.

"Sure," they chorused.

"Thank you. If it takes longer than two hours, don't wait any longer."

They both nodded.

"Sif, if you would place your hand on my shoulder again?" Harry requested.

Sif too nodded and did as Harry asked.

The two of them disapparated in front of Agent Hill, Betty, and Bruce.

Harry wished he could see their faces.


	4. Darcy Lewis, the world's only intern with an tasered-Asgardian count

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tony and Fury talk and Loki looks for his firstborn.

"I don't think I want you looking at that, I'm not sure it pertains to you anymore, now _this_ on the other hand is Agent Romanoff's Assessment of _you_. Read it," Director Fury (What had the man even done to deserve the title? Did it have something to do with his eye?) ordered.

Tony Stark scanned the profile and was instantly quite annoyed by both Fury and Natashalie's stupid profile, laughable as it was. Honestly, either Tony was a better actor than he thought or she was not as good as her reputation said (or maybe she had done it wrong on purpose…).

But alas he knew what the expected and played along. Perhaps it would help him in the future (and even if it wouldn't directly help, it would keep expectations and opinions low and he loved the look on peoples faces when they realized he was more than an asshole).

"Uuumm, **personality overview, Mr. Stark displays compulsive behaviour** ," Tony looked up from the file and into Fury's eye, "in my own defense, that _was_ last week."

The director simply stared at him, completely nonplussed, so he continued.

" **Prone to self destructive tendencies** _,_ I was dying, and I mean, _please_ , aren't we all?"

Seriously did Fury even _have_ emotions? The way he was still staring definitely made Tony question it.

" **Textbook... Narcissism** "

Tony paused, mostly because he seriously had to fight back a snort. Yeah, right. According to one of his psychologists (who he actually talked to, though admittedly that was mostly because of the joined effort of Pepper, Happy, Rhodey, JARVIS and the bots), there were five basic signs of Narcissism: not listening to what others were saying, the self centered attitude, never blaming oneself, thinking oneself over rules and interpreting valid concerns as criticism.

While he may not notice everything (even though he sometimes pretended he did), he always got the gist and the important details of what someone was saying to him. Most of the time it was more.

How could he possibly be self centered after Howard, numerous kidnappings, Sunset Bain (even thinking the name still hurt), Tiberius Stone, the Ten Rings (they deserved the separate mention), Obadiah Stane (better stop thinking about him, this is not gonna work if you start crying), Hammer (Tony had fucked up so bad with him) and Vanko (this was just the shortened version of the list of course, keeping Tony's self esteem down seemed to be a sport or something)?

Oh he blamed himself for things, for lots and lots of things. It was better not even start the list, Tony was sort of under time pressure.

It wasn't that he thought of himself as above the rules per se, it was simply that most people would bend over backwards for him (Tony meant both figuratively and literally) and fucking hell, it saved time and energy, so he might as well make use of it.

Tony may have learned the difference between valid concern and criticism rather late, but once he had learned it, he knew the difference.

"Agreed… okay hear this: **Recruitment assessment for Avenger Initiative: Iron Man yes** , I'm gonna think about it."

He really would.

Back to the not-really-point, quite frankly, trying to get Fury to show an emotion other than anger and annoyance was almost a game by now, but it seemed to be impossible.

Tony of course took this as an challenge.

"Read on."

No further reaction. It was frustrating, to be honest, so Tony looked back to the file.

" **Tony Stark not** ," he pretended to stumble over the words, " **not recommended.** "

He didn't even have to fake his confusion. Why, just why would they treat him as two separate people? It didn't make sense. It simply did not make any fucking sense, admittedly, he should have expected something like this, because, well, this report and then a recommendation? Just didn't add up.

"That doesn't make any sense. How can you approve me, but not approve me? I got a new-"

"Sir? I'm sorry to interrupt, but there are two people in the lobby who would like to see you", JARVIS informed the men, "They identified themselves as Sir Harry Potter and Lady Sif Durindottier."

Tony was pretty sure Fury knew these guys (or at the very least knew _of_ them), but did not order them here, so Tony stood up to meet them, effectively throwing Fury and the random agent who had not even said a single word out (Tony later found out the man's name was Agent Lukas Eisenhardt. Due to Tony's you-spy-on-me-I-spy-on-you policy, he knew the Eisenhardt's paternal grandparents emigrated from Poland, fleeing from Hitler. Unfortunately they had already lost the oldest sister of the three siblings, Zofia, and her son, Max, in Auschwitz. Tony intended to send the agent something in a way obscure enough for it to not be obvious _who_ send it).

* * *

When Harry and Sif arrived a minute or two earlier, they appeared directly in front of a door - like literally not even an inch, sweet Merlin, barely even a centimeter of air was between them and the door - so they decided to knock (or maybe they did it accidentally, they would never tell) before taking a step backwards.

They were quite surprised when they heard a bodiless electronic voice addressing them.

"Sir, Madam, I'm afraid neither of you are authorized to be on Mr. Starks property."

"I'm sorry, I thought this was private property, not a military one?" Harry wondered.

"This is true, but compared to Mr. Stark their security is not as good as everyone thinks. Excepting of course the places where Colonel Rhodes was stationed," the voice replied.

"Would you be so kind to let us in?", Sif questioned, still looking around for the origin of the voice.

"Seeing as neither of you have an official identity anywhere on Earth I shall refrain from doing so."

"Understandable, I guess," Sif stated, before introducing both of them and giving the reason for their visit.

"I know it's strange, but it's the truth," Harry added.

"Strange seems to be quite an understatement," the Master of Death was quite sure the voice was chuckling, "However SHIELDs files present the same story as you do, as do the records from Culver University. I will inform Mr. Stark of your arrival"

Then the door opened. Sif and Harry looked at each other before entering the mansion.

* * *

Meanwhile Loki, Saszul and Agents Barton and Coulson were sitting in the control room of the hastily built SHIELD facility, staring at various computers. It was only thanks to Loki's magic that the machines were actually useful, as there was way too much of the oceans on Midgard which was not actually known to them yet for there to be a complete and efficient search of Jormungardr, Loki's offspring, child, _son_ (it was only in the privacy of his thoughts were Loki was comfortable enough to actually use the word).

It had to be said that the snake was not staring at any of the screens, only glancing at them occasionally, keeping the majority of his attention focused on Agent Barton.

" _What is your problem, silly human? I can smell something is troubling you, so do not even try to deny it. Your bird smell did not fool me, neither did your weapon_ ," Saszul questioned.

Unfortunately – or perhaps the opposite – the man did neither speak nor understand the language of the snakes, so Agent Barton was quite confused.

Loki whereas chuckled, before translating once the Agents had gathered that he could (which was pleasantly and surprisingly short, especially compared to Thor, Sif and the Three). "Saszul here is merely worried about what seems to be troubling you, Agent Barton."

"Ah, well," Agent Barton scratched the back of his head, "It's just why was Jork... Jord..."

"Jormungardr," Loki offered the proper name of his son, and they better had the common sense to use it correctly or he could not guarantee, well, anything really. Not after the Asgardians flat out refused to call him anything but 'the Snake' and 'the Snake of Midgard', neither of which were acceptable names for a child (once he thought more about it, he was actually happy not to be a part of that race. Not that he had accepted his true heritage, it was simply that there were other species which valued other things than the Æsier, things which he was more comfortable with).

"Yeah, him. Why is he even on Earth?"

Immediately, Loki's expression darkened. "Neither by mine nor by his or Angrobada's choice, I assure you."

The Agents wisely decided to leave the matter as it was. Either that or they were interrupted by the alarm of the computers.

They has found a sign of his son! Quickly, Loki leaned forward to read the (possible, he had to remember it was simply the possible) locations of his son, ignoring the ominous wording of the message.

**Possible location of target: 19° 09′ N, 160° 58′ W**

**Nearest SHIELD base: Honolulu, Hawaii, USA**

* * *

Darcy Lewis never thought she'd find herself attracted by aliens, but one had to admit that from what she had seen there was no such thing as an unattractive Asgardian (she could for the love of it not remember the fancy word Thor used. Nor did she particularly care for it). Even Volstagg did not look bad (despite the fact Darcy _was not_ into bellies) and Loki - who from what she understood was something different, but the only term she knew sounded like a racist slur in her ears, so she wasn't using it until she was sure it was not - was not exactly hard on the eyes either. So yeah, aliens were _hot_ (the intern personally favoured the asian-looking guy. She thought his name was Hogun, but she wasn't quite sure).

After Thor had given both of them satisfying explanation for the last evening (Darcy had her taser ready the entire time in case it wasn't. When the blond one, Fanfal or something, started laughing she brought her tasered-Asgardian count up to 2), Jane kissed the god, successfully surprising her intern in the process. Then the two of them requested time for themselves ("Okay, just remember: the walls don't prevent us from hearing you." "DARCY!"). The Warrior's Three (which was apparently their proper group name, very… pratical) quickly decided that they needed to compare the alcohol of Earth with the Asgardian version and Darcy was not exactly opposed to the plan, so Erik went to buy them beer, leaving Darcy and three Asgardians alone in the kitchen which totally sounded like the start of a joke, only it wasn't.

"Tell me about Asgard!" Darcy all but ordered once the four of them were sitting around the kitchen table.

Fandral (that sounded right) grinned and started to describe his home. "From what I have seen it is very different from Midgard, I mean Earth, in that there are more trees-"

"Whoa whoa whoa. You do know that Earth doesn't look the same everywhere, right?"

"Indeed?" Hogun questioned from her right.

The intern frowned. "Yeah. Isnt this the same in the other realms?"

Volstagg laughed. "Not quite."

"You see, Jotunheim is almost fully covered in ice, Nidavellir has almost no landmass but one big ocean that covers almost all of the realm, Muspelheim is literally burning, Svartalfheim has many very high mountains, Alfheim is more or less one big forest, Utgard is very flat and has little to no trees, Asgard has a few hills and is one of the warmer realms and Vanaheim has a bit of everything but the fires, so it seems to be similar to Midgard," Hogun listed, counting the realms on his fingers as he did so.

"Sounds like it," Darcy agreed, "How are the inhabitants?"

"Well, Muspelheim is home to the Eldjötnar, the Fire Giants, they are very resourceful and wild, they do not like to be restrained. The Jotuns of Jotunheim are very similar in that aspect. The Jotun are neither male nor female, but both."

"So they're intersex. Hermaphrodites," Darcy interrupted Volstagg as he seemed to be confused by the concept despite the fact that he was the one explaining.

The god shrugged. "If that's what you call it here. In Utgard all forms of life are so to say quite big."

"He does not mean big like himself but instead that every being is fairly tall," Fandral grinned.

Volstagg moved to hit him only to be stopped by Hogun.

"Need I remind you two of the fact that we are guests to a lady?"

"Sorry milady", the other two mumbled.

Darcy gave Hogun a cheerful smile which he returned.

"Go on," the intern motioned to the aliens.

"Svartalfheim is home to the dwarfs who live in caves below the surface and are famous for their crafting. Then there are the Elves of Alfheim who are proud magic users," Volstagg almost sneered at this point, Darcy would swear every outh of the world-s on this, "Vanaheim is home to the Vanir who are quite similar to the Æsier. Both are strong and tall and value both fights and family, but they differ in their views on magic. The inhabitants of Nidavellir there are the Havfolk, the Havfrue and Havmands. They are the size of a child at most and they have tails like the one of a fish. They are cunning and have the ability to turn their tails into legs when out of water."

"Mermaids are real?" the intern was pretty sure she had never been more surprised. Though alien mermaids were not really a thing most people expect, so she should really be cut some slack.

In response to the stunned and confused looks of their guests, Darcy decided something.

"I'm going to introduce you to Disney movies!" she declared.

This was why Erik returned to everyone (Jane _did not_ like missing Disney movies) being assembled around the TV, watching _The Little Mermaid_. He joined them and they spent the whole day watching Disney movies ( _Hercules_ , _Mulan_ and the _Lion King_ movies) with constant commentary from everyone ("This is not how they look like!" "I wish the fool behaved like this!" "The real Mulan was not discovered for months… or was it years?").


	5. Death's boyfriend is on Teddy's side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tony finds a seemingly undecipherable code and Death is forced to start a daycare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hover over what Loki and Jormungardr are saying for translations (mobile and tablet users please see the Ending Notes)!

"Sir Harry and Lady Durindottir I presume? Interestingly neither of you seem to exist, that's a story I need to hear. I would introduce myself, but I assume you already know who I am, you are in my house after all."

Sif and Harry turned around to see Anthony Edward Stark (this was the third time a full name popped up in his head… he'd have to ask Death about this at some point) arriving at the top of the stairs.

"I prefer Sif. And please feel free to do so anyway, neither my companion nor I are from this world."

"Okay, I hope you plan to explain this at one point." The confusion was obvious on Stark's face. "My name is Tony Stark - and please, stick to Tony - and I am a former weapons manufacturer, but I turned from Saul to not-quite-Paul - sorry for the biblical reference, don't know where that came from, I _am_ an atheist after all - and I'm trying to do some good in the world through various means, even though as proven by this week this does not always work. Why exactly are you here?"

"Well," Harry joined the conversation, "I'm going to be blunt here. Some of your weapons were used by some General to hunt Dr. Bruce Banner aka the Hulk down."

The confusion in Stark's face quickly turned to shock, then anger.

"JARVIS, did we authorize this?" he demanded.

"I'm afraid that depends on your definition, Sir," his AI replied, "You personally did not, neither did Miss Potts. Obadiah Stane however did on behalf of Stark Industries back in September 2005. This was however at no point an official request by the American military."

"Can I get a word with this Stane then?" Harry questioned, "Seeing as you're obviously not to blame for my friend being hunted.

"As much as I would love to give you the opportunity to - and that is a lot, believe me - I'm afraid he's a bit too dead for that."

Well, there went his plan to scare the one responsible for giving the General the weapons. Shame, it would have been fun.

Hold on, didn't Death say he could visit the afterlife of _every_ universe?

"Wait, J, did you just say it was never an official contract, what was it then?" Stark questioned.

"You are asking good questions," Sif complimented.

"Thank you. I still want to know who you are though."

"It seems to have been a personal request, as Stane and General Ross seemed to address each other with their first names. But the thing that worries me, is that there is a code at the end of the message that I cannot seem to decipher. At least not so far."

The AI actually sounded frustrated. How had Tony done this? Was technology more advanced than it was in his old universe? Of course it was, it was 2011, not 2001 in this one. But was that the only reason for it?

"An undecipherable code? No such thing exists," Stark argued, "There are only those no one found the key for yet. What is our mystery code?"

The code turned visible in the window.

"I did not know people on Midgard had discovered the ability of illusions."

"Illusions? Like magic?" Stark shook his head, "Nah, Stephen Strange is the only magic user I heard of. Obviously that does not mean that there aren't any others somewhere out there, but I haven't been in contact with any. This is good old science. Holograms to be precise." Then they all looked at the code.

**YKEL STEIE**

"I never heard either of these words," Sif stated, "Did you in your old universe, Harry?"

While Harry denied this, Tony interrupted, "Hang on, old universe? You are so telling me this story right now."

"You might want to sit down," Harry advised.

"In other words it's not a story I want to hear sober, got it."

* * *

Once Harry and Sif finished telling Tony the basics of their stories (neither of them were comfortable sharing more than the bare minimum. And they had promised Bretty and Bruce they would return in under two hours), Harry side-alonged them back to Culver while Tony tried to crack the code (the wizard didn't think he would be making any progress that drunk, but if he wanted to try he wasn't going to stop the genius).

They quickly found Betty and Bruce sitting in the grass, simply talking about their lives. The two of them spotted Harry and Sif before they had a chance to scare them, which wasn't that great.

"What did whoever supplied my father say?", Betty inquired after everyone had greeted (and some of them hugged), "Who was it anyways? Hammer Industries? Baintronics?"

"Technically, it was Stark Industries," Harry answered.

"What do you mean, technically?" Bruce wondered.

"... and the son of Stark seemed to feel adequately guilty about hurting you and wished to offer you a place in his company," Sif finished her summary of what they had learned.

"We will think about it," Betty said after a short silent conversation between her and her boyfriend.

Bruce shrugged. "It can't possibly be worse than working in a bottle factory in Brazil."

"Tell me more about this 'Brazil'," Sif demanded.

"It's a rather poor country in South America which used to be almost fully covered in rainforest until humans intervened," he began explaining, but Harry stopped listening, instead asked Betty to explain his phone to him.

Eventually everyone realized that, apart from Betty they didn't have a place to sleep, so she simply invited them to sleep in her apartment.

Harry protested, as he had more than enough money to sleep in a hotel (with as many stars as he wanted there to be) for a night, but Betty would hear of it.

"If you're so rich, you can buy a house to a later date, but I'm not letting any friend of mine sleep in a hotel when we're not hiding from anyone and I live in the very same town."

* * *

Loki and the kid-hunting crew, as Clint had been referring to their merry group in his head took off to Honolulu a little bit faster than humanly possible.

If he was honest, Clint was actually kind of looking forward to this. Should they really meet this gigantic snake, that would be awesome (yes, he was a fan of snakes. So what? There were scarier things. Like Natasha).

When he landed the jet in their base in Honolulu roughly ten hours later, the agents only barely managed to stop Loki from flying out there on his own (with Saszul), as the agents were tired and it was roughly nine pm in the local timezone.

The next morning, the four of them switched over to a small seaplane to fly to the area they hoped to find Jormungardr in. The portable version of their magic-ed tracker (this one too under magical influence) informed them, that what they presumed to be Jor slowly moved northwest, so they slightly corrected their route and destination.

About two hours later they landed on the water and Loki left the plane.

The nearer they had come to this spot, the more convinced the god had become that this was indeed Jormungardr, as they apparently shared some sort of magical parent-child connection (which had not been adequately explained to him yet).

So Loki basically leapt out of the seaplane the exact second they arrived and was now yelling for his son (Clint did hear Loki saying the word so he thought it would be okay to start thinking it. Verbally he would still stick to offspring for a while, he wasn't a complete moron after all).

Surprisingly, it took only a minute or two until a huge (not quite gigantic, sadly) snake head broke through the surface of the Pacific, only to shrink when he turned towards his father. Slowly but surely Jormungardr turned human(oid). He seemed to be very tall for his age, as Clint would guess him to be twelve based on his face, but he was only one or two inches smaller than the archer (which totally didn't bother him. No it didn't).

"Faðir! Þú ert hér! Þú ert í raun og veru hér!" the boy cried into his father's arms, hugging him and from the looks of it not planning to let go in the near future.

"Ég er," Loki replied, stroking through his son's black hair, "Og að þessu sinni er ekkert Óðinn getur gert til að skipta okkur aftur. Við erum að fara að finna systkini þín líka. Við munum vera saman."

Clint cautiously climbed to the edge of the seaplane and consequently stepped closer to the duo (trio if you counted Saszul). "I hate to break the moment here, I seriously do, but maybe we should fly back to Hawaii instead of staying here in the middle of the ocean."

Loki nodded slowly and began to coax Jormungardr into entering the seaplane. It was only when Saszul (presumably) joined the older god that Jormungardr was prepared to fly, to meet new people or whatever other thing it was that simply overwhelmed the poor boy after spending centuries alone in the ocean.

From what Clint had been able to find out so far, Loki's three oldest children (and if his math was right Loki had been _very_ young when they had been born) had been punished for something ridiculous, something that they had no control over about four hundred years ago when they were the equivalent of six, three and one (with roughly 75 years being the same as one year for a human child) and had spent their time since as snake, wolf and whatever-the-proper-term-for-Hel-was.

When Sleipnir, the only one not born from an arranged marriage, had been born just short of a century later, Odin transfigured him into a horse and now _rode on him_ (and that just made Clint's stomach turn).

The two youngest, Vali and Narfi, not quite the equivalent of two years (as in the would turn 150 this year), had so far been spared of a horrible fate, but Loki did not trust this.

Neither of the agents could bring themselves to disagree with the young god.

* * *

Death was not happy dealing with a hyperactive toddler.

Fate, despite originally having been the one to give Death the idea for her so-called master, had heard to the small boys story and had point blank refused to let him live anywhere but with his godfather.

Even though she loved him, he really got on Death's nerves sometimes (the two of them had agreed millennia ago to use the pronouns of the form they used at that moment/preferred, should they converse in human languages for the fun of it. Human languages were so limiting, honestly).

So she spent an entire day entertaining the young boy, answering his questions and doing all the other stuff to make sure a three year old would survive. She wasn't very good at it, normally her job was closer to the opposite, and while it had been kind of fun at first, it soon got annoying. And he kept her from doing paperwork, it would take a week to catch up (one universe had conveniently started their Fourth World War)!

Imagine how happy she was when both Teddy Lupin and Harry Potter finally went to sleep so she could call him without causing those around him to panic.

"Is that… Teddy?" he questioned upon seeing the form of his sleeping godson in Death's arms.

"Here. Take him," she all but shoved him into Harry's arms, "Fate didn't like him being away from you so here he is! As a payment for allowing him to cross universes he is now a full werewolf. His stuff, including these letters you got him yesterday, are now in arriving at Tony Stark's house in Roanoke, Virginia. For both of you a day has passed and when you wake up he'll be with you. Have fun explaining that. Goodbye."

Maybe it was rude, but one, she needed to get to that paperwork, and two, she was Death, Fate was the only one who could tell her what to do.

"Wait," Harry interrupted in the literal last second, silently glad he had given in and stayed with Betty and the others, "I wanted to ask why sometimes the full name of a person simply pops in my head."

"Sorry," she grinned, "Must've missed it while giving you the introduction. If that happens, the person in question will have a near death experience or die within the next three to five years. Anything else? No? In that case goodbye, have fun dealing with that shapeshifting werewolf kid. See you!"

* * *

Meanwhile Fury was sitting in his office, thinking about the bizarre occurrences that had happened over the week.

The Norse apparently-not-myths and the multiverse theory had been proved to be true, Stark had finally gotten of his ass and did something to save his sorry arse (it was impossible for him to be suicidal, so why hadn't he done something earlier) and the fuvking Hulk was back in the US and had been proven to have some sort of intelligence.

And, as if all of that wasn't enough, now the SHIELD team in Qaqortoq out of all places called, claiming to have found Captain America after spending over sixty years looking for him!

At least Coulson was busy with the Norse god who just barely classified as sane right now, so that should that claim prove to be false like countless before, he would never know.

"Sitwell, yes it is nearly midnight, no I don't care. You will get me a team right now, fly them over to Greenland and then find some scientists who claim to have found the world's first superhero."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Norse (Icelandic) Translations:  
> Father! You're here! You're actually here!  
> I am. And this time there is nothing Odin can do to split us again. We are going to find your siblings too. We'll stay together.


	6. Bow down to SHIELD's superior paperwork!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Agent Hill has paperwork, Teddy is adorable and Peggy is still kicking ass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the long wait! Those of you who are following me as an author know that I was by no means lazy in that time, I wrote... a lot.

When Betty woke up early on the next morning, she was very confused to find a toddler in her apartment, cuddling to Harry, but she decided to ignore it (these two were way too cute to disturb them). At least until the man woke up, then he’d have some serious explaining to do!

Bruce woke up not long after her and the two of them agreed to let Harry and the kid sleep; they both looked like they needed it.

Instead, the newly reunited couple sat down in the kitchen and continued to inform each other of anything and everything that happened in the last couple of years (and those were interesting stories in both cases).

Sif joined them around two hours later (by that point it was still before 10 AM. Both Betty and Bruce were morning people). Almost directly after Sif had finished eating her cereal (as recommended by Betty), the toddler seemed to have a nightmare. The goddess raced back to the living room, closely followed by the two scientists, but within seconds of the kid’s terrified screaming, Harry was up and alert.

“Teddy?” He whispered (so  _ that _ was the kid’s name!), shaking the young boy gently. “Teddy? It’s okay. I’m here. You’re only dreaming.”

Barely seven seconds later Teddy was awake. He looked around, visibly confused (not that Betty could blame the kid) and hugged Harry as if both of their lives depended on it.

“Unca ‘Arry!”

Sweet Jesus, that kid was so cute (she glanced at Bruce in consideration for barely a second. He did not notice; he was too focused on watching Teddy with an expression that spoke of both fondness and longing)!

“Yes, it’s me, Teddy Bear,” Harry answered, chuckling slightly.

“A’ntie Ginny tolds me you were gone, like Mumma and Papa,” the toddler cried into Harry’s arms.

“Everything’s fine now, isn’t it? You’re now here with me. And I’m not going to leave you again if I have any choice.”

Teddy looked into Harry’s face with puppy dog eyes (which, Betty noticed, were hard to resist even when they weren’t directed at you). “Prowise?”

“I swear Teddy. I swear.”

Then the doorbell rang (and the sweet reunion was interrupted).

Bruce moved to get the door while Betty introduced herself to the kid that had just noticed her. Or at least she tried, as the kid was hiding behind Harry’s leg (it was so cute. And she needed to get a grip on herself).

Mere seconds later, Bruce returned. He was accompanied by a woman (she recognized her as the person they had looked for yesterday. Her name was Mary Hill or something) and a man who looked distinctly uncomfortable in his suit (it was Suit-guy #1! Luhng!).

Betty quickly introduced herself. “Does anyone want a coffee?”

Both of the agents politely requested one.

Harry looked up. “Agent Hill, Agent Luhng, good to see you. What brings you here?”

Agent Hill quit staring at Teddy and locked eyes with Harry. “Originally, we were just here to get your paperwork done, but it seems that additional tasks have arisen.”

Harry blinked. “My paperwork?”

“We will get to that in a few seconds.” Agent Hill knelt down in front of Teddy. “Hello, I’m Maria. What’s your name?”

Teddy shook his head. “Not s’posed to talk to strangers.”

“It’s okay, Teddy,” Harry encouraged, “I know Agent Hill, er, Maria.” Well, vaguely. But it wasn’t like he knew anyone in this universe properly, so that was about as close as you would get.

The toddler introduced himself quietly.

“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Lupin,” Agent Hill replied, standing up and causing Harry’s godson to giggle. “Now, let’s get to business, Mr. Potter.”

As it turned out, SHIELD was prepared for almost everything, because Agent Hill had brought forms for several things no one would expect (except for SHIELD, apparently). From 5263a for example, dealt with benevolent universal travellers.

“Who even sits down and thought these up?” Bruce questioned once he was handed form 732d (technically-not-refugees returning to US soil).

“What exactly do you think the interns do?” Luhng chuckled.

“Provide coffee?” Betty guessed, returning from the kitchen and handing the agents their coffee.

“Thank you. And yes, they do, but that still leaves half of their day free. Not to forget those who have fun with it, like Agent Coulson. Form 941c for example, deals with an invasion of pink fluffy unicorns that produce rainbows,” Agent Hill answered.

Once the forms (including one or two concerning Teddy, somehow) were all appropriately filled out, the agents left to, er, wherever (no one asked).

Then there was a weird sound that seemed to originate from his pocket. It took Harry a few seconds to figure out that his phone was causing the noise. Someone was calling him.

A glance at the screen revealed that Tony was calling him.

“Hello?”

“Are you the reason why the energy readings in my Roanoke house reached previously unknown levels for a couple of seconds last night?” Tony questioned, not even bothering to greet him (that was just rude).

Harry considered it for a moment or two. He had definitely heard the name Roanoke in the last couple of days and was almost certain that it had been Death who mentioned it. “...Possibly.”

“What do you mean possibly?!”

* * *

Jasper Sitwell had been on a three day leave when he had gotten the call from Director Fury. It was the first time he had seen his family in months or even years, for some of his more distant relatives (everyone except for his parents and brother), but that didn’t matter. This mission was more important.

Captain America had been found.

He—or more precisely his blood—was a very important part of his organization's goals, through careful replanning would have to take place.

They had not expected him to be found for another decade or two and it was unlikely that they could proceed as previously planned if the historical records of Steve Rogers were even somewhat accurate.

Their plans were in severe danger of failing and something needed to be done against it.

On the way to Greenland, he scrolled through this phone.

It took him virtually no time to find the number he was looking for as there were only a total of twelve numbers saved.

He looked around the plane to double check that there was no one around who was not supposed to hear this.

Sitwell didn’t want to know what would happen if they were revealed. Especially not if he was to blame in any way, shape or form.

“Good day, General. There have been a few interesting developments, so to say…”

And that was about the biggest understatement he had ever made.

* * *

(Unofficially still) Director Peggy Carter Jones knew that something was wrong when Agent Ward of all people brought her tea without it being requested of him.

Despite being in her nineties, she was by no means old or a fool that had somehow forgotten how the world—especially the world of a secret agent—worked.

There was something in that tea. It didn’t matter what it was. Anything that was hidden had a 99.9 percent chance of being harmful or deadly.

But Peggy Carter was no fool, despite her advanced age.

She thanked Ward, pretended to take a sip and gave him a flimsy excuse not to drink all of it right now (flimsy by her standards. Excellent by the common one).

As soon as he was out of hearing range, she called her favorite biologist.

“Dr. Simmons, if you would please make you way into my office? I seem to have a problem. And you can bring that engineer of yours too, now that I think about it.”   
Best to get rid of the bugs straight away and Agents leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons were some of the most competent newbies that SHIELD had had in a couple of years.

It was always better to train them early. That way it was rarely too late.

Or at least less often.

* * *

Agent Coulson, Loki, Jormungardr, and Clint had left the SHIELD base in Honolulu roughly four hours earlier and were currently moving back towards the US mainland.

Apart from the quiet muttering between father and son, everything was quiet. Clint needed to fly the plane after all and he was pretty sure—almost certain—that Phil had a curse on him that prevented him from speaking more than a set number of words per day and was saving them in case there was something important (or a fellow Captain America nerd).

Until Phil got a call that is. The ringtone was “Secret Agent Man” by Johnny Rivers which Clint found pretty darn hilarious.

Phil picked up the call and his expression was one of the best the archer had ever seen. Made him want to get a camera, but he was flying a plane right now (and there was a snake moving around somewhere which certainly did not make it easier, so it was better to simply savour the memory.

“Stark there better be a way I can reverse this or so help me I’ll…”

There was a short pause in which Stark—Tony Stark! What was going on with the world this week?—must’ve finished Phil’s threat.  _ Taze you and watch you drool into the carpet while catching up on Supernanny _ . That was his handler’s personal favorite, so it was pretty likely that he had used it on Stark.

“Exactly. Now why are you calling me?”

Out of the corner of his eye Clint recognized confusion, surprise, joy, and relief pass over Phil’s face as the man muttered, “Yes, why are you asking? And—more importantly—how do you know?”

At least it seemed to be good news. Weird obviously, since  _ Phil _ had been surprised (and Phil never is).

“Alright. I will see you then,” Phil said as he finished the call, before calling out for Loki.

Clint could just imagine the god in question looking up from his son with a single raised eyebrow.

“An acquaintance of mine has invited us to stay over in his home. I think you will find it to be closer to your standards than a room at SHIELD would be.”

Stark had done what?! Also, was Clint included in this, because, oh boy, that would be fucking awesome!

He was pretty sure that Loki was translating what Phil had just said for his son. Wasn’t there this Allspeak thing? Was that a learned skill or just a gene that Jormungardr had missed out on?

“That sounds adequate,” Loki replied after Jormungardr had finished his—presumably—enthusiastic ramble.

Phil smiled. “Excellent. I hear that Harry has somehow acquired a three year old that is dire for company.”

* * *

Pepper Potts was not quite sure if there was a proper name for what she was feeling right now and she had long since stopped caring. It was a mix of anger, joy, sadness, relief, and so many other emotions she did not bother to list.

Tony Stark had been dying of the last year or so and she had not noticed. Neither had Rhodey or Happy and now the three of them were just awkwardly sitting around in her office, not uttering a word for what felt like hours (according to the clock it had not even been half of one) until she finally broke down.

“He was saying goodbye and none of us noticed! He gave you a suit, Rhodey. His art collection, Happy. And the company to me,” she almost sobbed.

“I’m pretty sure that if any of us were to look into our bank account we would notice a huge sum that is not supposed to be there,” Happy added as he hugged her.

“How didn’t we notice?” Rhodey muttered. “Why didn’t we notice? We should have noticed!”

“It’s too late for that now. We already failed him,” Pepper had started to cry.

Then JARVIS’ voice rose from the speakers.

“If I may be so rude to interrupt your conversation, but despite my best effort’s, Sir did not want any of you to find out.”

Pepper blinked several times, Happy’s jaw dropped and Rhodey almost dropped the empty glass that had at one point contained a single whisky.

“Why?” Happy inquired horsley, sounding as if he had screamed for days. “Why wouldn’t Tony let us know?”

It was a question that plagued all of them.

“Because Sir realized early on that there was no existing cure and he wanted to spare you the pain.”   
Pepper gave herself a second to make sure she had understood JARVIS correctly before she yelled, “What do you mean there’s no cure?!”   
“Do that mean he’s still in danger?” Rhodey wondered. Then, a thought occurred to him. “Well, in more danger than usual.”

Happy just sat there, pale and unmoving.

“No, not at all. Sir invented—although rediscovered would technically be more accurate—a suitable, currently nameless element to replace the palladium in the reactor yesterday.”

The three humans all focused on different things.

Happy, eyes almost the side of plates: “A new element!?”

Rhodey, finally dropping the glass: “The reactor!?”

Pepper, shaking hands and tears running down her face: “ _ Yesterday _ ?!”

JARVIS only needed a single word to answer the three of them. “Indeed.”

Once again, the three of them sat in silence. The AI took that as an invitation to explain the entire situation in excessive detail.

Pepper could have lived without quite a few of those, and Happy and Rhodey looked like they felt roughly the same.

“So, the very same thing that extended his lifespan almost did the exact opposite? What kind of poetic justice is this?” Happy questioned once JARVIS was done.

“I wish I had an answer, but I have been asking myself the same question for months,” JARVIS replied (and he would have shook his head, if he had one).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please tell me what you think


	7. Teenagers will do anything for money

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Peggy is assembling a team, Jormungardr is afraid of flying, and Steve wakes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! I have started so many other projects in the meantime that this kind of faded in the background.

Darcy awoke from the post-Disney marathon slumber earlier than the gods, Erik or Jane, but she was completely fine with that.   
At least this way, she had some time to prepare food. She had seen the amount of popcorn these guys had consumed and was smart enough to realize that she should be prepared.

Unfortunately, they didn’t exactly have a lot of food in the house. Their supply of coffee, tea, and hot chocolate was almost ridiculously large (the almost part was a lie), even if it was dwarfed by their chocolate stash.

But they only had enough cereal for one potion (and that was stretching it), a slice of toast that was starting to rot, three poptarts, two bananas and a spoonful of oatmeal.

In other words, not nearly enough for them. They may have managed a day or two if it were only Jane, Darcy, and (possibly) Erik, but the Asgardians (Darcy still wasn’t using that fancy name) would destroy any possibility of that.

She needed to get new food and she needed to get it fast. She could make a run to the store, but Darcy wasn’t sure she trusted the other guys not to destroy anything while she was gone.

There had to be some other way.

She could take everyone to Isabella’s diner. That, however, had the downside of the whole talking about the weird friends of the weird scientist for the next six months and, no, thank you, Darcy could live without that.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a teenager passing the street in front of their...let’s go with house.

She sprinted to the door. “Hey! You there! Yes, you with the amazing hair!”

The young person (what? Darcy didn’t know their gender after all) stopped. “Are you talking to me?”

“I said ‘you with the amazing hair’, didn’t I? Because I love your afro. But anyway, can you do some shopping for me? I’ll pay you.”

The teen shrugged (once the pay was mentioned). “Alright. What do you need?”

Darcy considered this for a moment, before she dug out two or three twenty dollar bills (thank God for her parents’ money). “As much food as you can get from that. And not only fast food, please.” She pulled out another ten. “This is your pay. You’ll get it when you come back. Should you be back here within the next hour, I’ll throw in another ten.”

That should be enough motivation for them to come back.

(And it worked out well.)

* * *

Meanwhile Tony was having a mental breakdown over the secret code he had found.

**YKEL STEIE**

What could that possibly mean? Between him and JARVIS, they had tried just about every single decipher method known, but to no avail.

It was frustrating, really. If it was someone on their side it would’ve been nice, but this was the work of the bad guys, so it kind of sucked.

It wasn’t a Vigenere or a Caesar code, that much was obvious. It wasn’t an Engima code either and the list of things it  _ wasn’t  _ grew increasingly longer.

The worst thing was that Tony had a feeling that the code wasn’t that complex. If only he knew what method was used, then he would be done in minutes, at most.

“Tony?” a voice suddenly spoke from the door.

The genius turned around. It was Pepper who had spoken, and she was closely followed by Rhodey and Happy.

“Hey guys,” Tony greeted.

Pepper stormed across the room and slapped the engineer. “ _ That _ is for not telling me you were dying.” Then, she kissed him. “And  _ that  _ is because you survived.”

“I have a feeling that this is a private moment,” Happy muttered to Rhodey.

“I agree,” the other man replied equally quiet.

As Tony’s brain started working again, he called Rhodey over. “Do you have any idea how to decipher this code?”

“Let me see.” Rhodey moved over towards the billionaire and looked at the hologram for a few seconds. “Not at the top of my head, sorry.”

“What is so important about that code?” Pepper asked, frowning.

“It has something to do with my weapons being sold to General Ross who used him to hunt down the Hulk also known as Bruce Banner.”

“You’re not kidnapping Banner,” Pepper scolded.

“Depending on your definition of kidnapping it might be too late for that, but that’s not the point here,” Tony waved it off. “The point is that neither JARVIS nor I can get this code deciphered.”

“Sir, Mr. Potter is attempting to contact you,” JARVIS interrupted.

“Patch him through on my phone,” Tony ordered. “No point in having him on screen if he doesn’t have a camera better than a potato.”

“Who is this Potter guy?” Happy questioned.

“Some British dude from an alternate universe.”

Before anyone could question that further (and all three of them tried), Tony was already conversing with Harry.

“Hey. Why are you calling?—Yes, I always am that rude—No, I’m not. Tell Dr. Banner I’m sorry.”

A few seconds passed before Tony continued speaking. During the entire conversation Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy were trading looks of confusion.

“I’m glad—Yeah, I’m doing my best, but I have absolutely no idea how it works. It frustrates me—You think I didn’t think of that myself? Of course I looked in the Internet, but I didn’t have the time to go through every single website yet.” Tony closed his eyes, put his hand in front of his face, and sighed. “Yes, there are that many.”

Rhodey snorted as Pepper chuckled.

“It’s not like we can ask Stane what it means and be done with it. He’s a bit dead for  that—what do you mean you can? Why didn’t you mention that earlier?” Tony’s expression turned to one of pure confusion (a truly rare sight) before he threw his arms in the air. “You  _ forgot _ ? How exactly do you manage to forget that you can speak to the dead?”

* * *

“It’s not a poison per se,” Jemma Simmons explained to her partner, Leo Fitz, and—dare she believe it—Peggy Carter. “It is a chemical formula that attacks certain enzymes in the hippocampus, thus preventing some of its functions.”

“Alright,” Director Carter nodded. “What are these functions exactly.”

“There are several things handled by the hippocampus, but I believe that whoever created this had the intention to attack the process of turning short term memories into long term ones,” Dr. Simmons theorized.

Fitz nodded in the background as he was checking for at least the third time that all bugs were still sending the sound of Director Carter working on paperwork and that only.

“In other words, it would have made me forget anything from that point forward?” Director Carter asked for confirmation.

“There is a possibility—I obviously didn’t test it on humans and the simulations proved inconclusive—that is might attack older memories as well.”

Director Carter nodded slowly. “Essentially, there is a possibility it would simulate amnesia, thus discrediting me and getting me out of the way” she summarized.

“Yes, Director Carter;” Jemma confirmed.

“Call me Peggy, Dr. Simmons,” the older woman smiled at her. “That goes for you as well, Dr. Fitz. It seems like we have some work to do.”

“Excuse me, but...we?” Fitz questioned, completely fluttered and flabbergasted.

Director Carter (no, Peggy) nodded. “Yes, Dr. Fitz, we. We have no idea what exactly we are dealing with, it’s good to get as much help as possible and the two of you have already proven helpful.” She paused as she considered something. “That is unless you don’t want to be a part of this operation?”

Jemma looked at Fitz and smiled.

“We’d be honored,” they chorused.

* * *

Jormungardr was glad that his father had finally found him.

He had been alone in the cold, dark ocean for long enough.

He was glad that that was finally over.

Jormungardr had been reunited with his father after dozens and dozens (possibly hundreds, how was he to know?) of years. His father had gotten help from two humans and a snake.

They had flown (flown!) across the ocean in a strange...something. Jormungardr had seen a few of them before.

Destroyed 

At the bottom of the sea.

It was safe to say that Jormungardr didn’t exactly trust that thing (according to his father, it was called a ‘plane’).   
But they reached the continent fairly quickly. For the first time in...a while...Jormungardr was actually standing on solid ground again.

It was wonderful, no matter how hard it was to keep balanced (his father assured him that he would improve, that he had already done so before).

Jormungardr didn’t particularly like the fact that they had to get into another ‘plane’ fairly quickly (granted, it was the next morning), but his father was hugging him and the (other?) snake, Saszul, was curled up around him, so he was able to manage it.

Barely.

But once they arrived at their destination (and his flight took a lot longer than the one before) his father swore that he would not have to fly again until it was ready if he had any choice in that matter.

Jormungardr didn’t understand a word of the humans. He hadn’t heard more than muffled conversations since before he had been taken. Language had changed since then (and his father told him that they were in a different place as well):

They had to walk to a really big house that was not a palace. The way wasn’t very long, but Jormungardr’s legs got tired fairly quickly nevertheless.

At first he was determined not to let anyone notice, but it wasn’t long until raising one foot and putting it down in front of the other was too hard.

One of the humans turned to his father and asked something (it had to do with him. He knew because he had heard his name). His father turned to Jormungardr and translated what the man had proposed.

He wanted to carry Jormungardr and was asking for permission.

His first instinct was to reject the offer (he didn’t know this man and he was old enough to walk by himself), but a look into the bleeding eyes of his father made him reconsider.

Jormungardr nodded in the direction of the man and the man bent down to pick him up.

It kind of felt nice, Jormungardr supposed. Maybe it was the fact that the human cared.

* * *

Unknown to anyone else, Fawkes was off on his own. The phoenix had sensed the worry Loki had for his children, had grasped a vague idea of the pain they were going through and he decided to act.

They had already found Jormungardr and gotten hims out of his situation, so helping him was not the priority right now. The twins were (currently) safe with their mother Sigyn,  Hel was shut away in her own realm (that Fawkes wasn’t sure he could enter), and Sleipnir was in the royal stables (where any change would be noticed).

Which left Fenrir.

Fawkes flew onto the island where Fenrir was imprisoned and landed on the child’s fur. Fenrir instantly tensed.

The phoenix began to sing a calming song and started to cry on the worst wounds of Fenrir.

Slowly but surely, the wolf relaxed his muscles and lay down.

**Stay strong** , Fawkes told Fenrir.  **Your father is looking for you. You will not be here much longer.**

It might not have loosened the chains, but it gave the child hope. And hope was something everyone needed to continue fighting.

* * *

Steve Rogers didn’t know where he was when he woke up.

The fact that he even woke up was odd by himself. He should have drowned in that plane, there was no doubt about that.

So he was understandably confused when he woke up in a room that desperately attempted to look like a recovery room, but wasn’t. There were several details that were wrong (the bed was too comfy, for example), not to forget the fact that the game they were playing was an old one.

Something was wrong here. He didn’t know what exactly it was, but he knew that there was no way he was really in an American recovery room.

The question was, why were they (whoever they were) pretending that that was the case?

Steve couldn’t really think of a good answer.

As he was trying to think of literally any reason, a woman entered. She was pretending to be a nurse, but her costume had a couple of mistakes. The tie, the hair, and the bra were the most noticeable ones.

“Where am I?” he demanded.

“In a recovery room in New York City,” she replied. Why were they keeping up that charade?

“No, I’m not,” he argued. She was about to disagree, so he pointed to the radio. “I know that game. I know it, because I was there.” There were a lot of things to pick from, but that had seemed like the best one.

The expression on her face changed and she attempted to contact someone.

That was enough for Steve he jumped out of the bed and ran. Out of the room, out of the facility.

It took a few moments until he noticed that everything seemed different. The cars, the fashion, the buildings. None of it where like anything he had seen before, not even in the movies.

What was going on?

A car (at least that was what he assumed) stopped behind him and a black man in a leather cloak stepped out.

“You were asleep for a while, Captain, I’m afraid.”

“How long?” Steve asked. How long had it been? It had to be at least a decade, given how much technology seemed to have progressed. Maybe two or three.

“You were asleep for almost seventy years.”

Seventy?! Seventy years?

That would mean that everyone he had ever known—Rebecca, Dum Dum, Frenchie, Monty, Gabe, Morita, Howard, Peggy—they would all either be old and gray, or, more likely, dead.

“Everything okay, Captain?” the man asked.

It wasn’t. Not really.

“Yeah, it’s just…” Steve trailed off, unsure what to say for a moment. “I had a date.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please tell me what you think!


End file.
